Post-acute Sequelae SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC)
Conditions
Brief summary
The overarching goals of this study are to employ cognitive testing to understand how transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), when used concurrently with cognitive training tasks, can affect cognitive impairment symptoms in individuals with long COVID, or post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), and to examine variability in response between active and sham tDCS treatment groups.
Interventions
OTHERActive tDCS
cognitive training + active-tDCS tDCS twice a day (two 13 minute sessions per day, each 2mA / 25cm² = 0.08 current density; anode on left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F3, cathode on right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F4) for five consecutive days.
OTHERSham tDCS
cognitive training + sham-tDCS tDCS twice a day (two 13 minute sessions per day, each 2mA / 25cm² = 0.08 current density; anode on left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F3, cathode on right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex F4) for five consecutive days.
Sponsors
University of Minnesota
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Ability to provide consent and comply with study procedures * Age 18 to 60 years old * Estimated IQ within the specified range (70 <= IQ E <= 115) * Current post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) as defined by the National Center for Health Statistics post-COVID-19 conditions survey ((Long COVID 2022), including impaired cognition symptoms, for at least 3 months post-infection * Ability to participate in four weekly 40' training sessions over four weeks and participate in two assessments * English speaking
Exclusion criteria
* Any medical condition or treatment with neurological sequelae (e.g. stroke, tumor, loss of consciousness >30 min, concussion involving hospital admission, HIV) * Contraindications for tDCS (e.g. history of seizures) * Five or more sessions of neuromodulation (such as tDCS) or cognitive training in the past 6 months
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive improvement effects of WM training with active tDCS vs. sham | baseline and post-test assessment, 4 weeks | shown by WM task progression and performance on cognitive testing measures |
| Generalization of cognitive effects of active tDCS vs. sham | baseline and post-test assessment, 4 weeks | includes effect on PASC-related cognitive impairment symptoms |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed